August 08, 2008

Celebrating the Olympics but not forgetting, either...

I rarely talk about politics here, although most people who know me in real life know I'm fairly feisty in my political beliefs. But Beverly at PoMoGolightly had a great idea.

Today as the Olympics are getting started, I'm joining Beverly in saying:None of us are free until ALL of us are free

One of the thing that I find most disappointing about the Olympics being in China this year is that so little has been done to address the concerns people had when the IOC decided China would host. Tibet is just one part of the equation (you can learn more at the International Campaign for Tibet). China's financial support for Sudan is another (more info at Save Darfur). Violations of human rights, censorship, and suppression of dissent inside of China are also major concerns.

I'm excited to participate in the Ravelympics and the ideals of the Olympics are worth celebrating, but it's also important to remember those in Tibet, Darfur, and China who are not free.

Comments

Good point. I'm actually not doing Ravelympics for that reason. I also have qualms about the debate over amateurs and professionals in the games. At this point I barely see a difference between many of the "amateurs" and the "pros." Not that the games necessarily need to be about amateurs, but the lines are being drawn in such odd ways.